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Former Secretary-General Ishiba of the LDP questions Prime Minister Abe of Japan

Former Secretary-General Ishiba of the LDP questions Prime Minister Abe of Japan

Kanako Itamae and Lee Jay Walker

Modern Tokyo Times

The reverberations of the terrible showing of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) in the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly election continues to usher in internal political discontent. This notably applies to Shigeru Ishiba, the former Secretary-General of the LDP, who is openly criticizing the government of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

Ishiba especially complained about policy goals and agendas that are changed all too frequently. Hence, leaving core voters of the LDP with confusion during a time that needs certainty based on complex internal economic issues – and sharing a delicate geopolitical space with China and North Korea.

At the same time, Ishiba is disillusioned by the lack of internal LDP political discussion related to major issues. In other words, some LDP politicians seem to fear to raise their respective voices. Similarly, it is widely perceived that Abe is loyal to close friends and he seeks a hands-on approach that is crushing political diversity within the ruling LDP.

Ishiba said, “If you try to stay on the safe side by not raising your voice, we would all be in the same boat only to see Japan collapse.”

Immediately after the abysmal showing of the LDP in the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly election, Ishiba hit out at the current Abe administration. He said, “Rather than a victory for Tokyo Citizens First, this is a defeat for the LDP… We must recognize this as an historic defeat.”

More recently, Ishiba said, “If we put the voter sentiment (in 2009) at 0 degree Celsius, it felt like the temperature plunged to somewhere around minus 20 this election.”

Two days ago in Tokyo, Ishiba stated, “It is not a good idea to alter ‘programs’ every year like the Taiga drama.”

Ishiba is indicating at a compliant LDP that is beholden to Abe despite confusing policy agendas that keep on changing. Hence, many loyal LDP voters are disillusioned and confused. At the same time, Abe is involved in alleged scandals that are weakening his popularity and that of the current Abe administration. Therefore, Ishiba is increasingly expressing his views at this difficult time for the current Abe administration.